另一方面，什么样的父母会不满足子女想得到一件“海绵宝宝”玩具、一个蜘蛛侠餐盒或朵拉背包的愿望呢？既然这种个人电脑可能配有“大耳朵”，那么它就不只是一台米老鼠计算机了。





Unit 45


Life is looking up for managers at the 4,300 stores of Tesco, one of the world's biggest supermarket chains. A program from CA, a big software firm, will make a tedious job much easier: gathering data about each store's energy consumption, be it from lights, air conditioning or refrigeration. The streamlined data collection is part of Tesco's ambitious plan to halve emissions of greenhouse gases from existing stores and distribution centres by 2020.

Tesco and CA may be pioneers, but they are not alone. While governments argue over emissions cuts, many firms have already started cleaning up their act, or at least preparing to do so——prompting more and more software firms to offer tools to help. If optimists are right, the market for “carbon-management software”could one day become at least as big as those for other important business applications such as customer-relationship-management (CRM) programs, which brought in revenues of more than $9 billion last year.

Many firms have tracked energy consumption for some time in an effort to save money. Others have monitored emissions of different kinds in order to comply with regulations on pollution. More recently, public pressure has prompted more companies to tally emissions and disclose the results in their annual reports or to outfits like the Carbon Disclosure Project. But most have used simple tools such as spreadsheets and databases.

This is changing, despite the recession, says David Metcalfe, boss of Verdantix, a consultancy. Higher energy costs, green branding and new regulation are all pushing more firms to keep track of their emissions and do so with specialised software, he argues. In Britain, for example, the Carbon Reduction Commitment will come into effect next year. Among other things, it requires firms that use more than 6,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year to measure and report the energy they use.

Anticipating a surge in demand, software-makers have rushed into the market, mostly with web-based services. In a recent survey AMR Research, another consultancy, identified no fewer than 157 providers. Some focus on reporting, others on compliance and yet others on optimising business processes. There are firms that have been around for years, such as Enviance and IHS. Many start-ups, notably Carbonetworks and Hara, have appeared. Even big software firms have moved into the market: CA, IBM, Oracle, SAP and SAS.

At least for now, the needs of most firms are simple: making sure that data are collected regularly and can be audited. But in the years to come, this too will change, predicts Stephen Stokes of AMR. Firms will need software that collects data automatically, helps them find the best ways to cut emissions and also lets them manage other resources, such as water and waste. Messrs Metcalfe and Stokes both expect that Oracle and SAP, which already dominate most forms of business software, will become pre-eminent in this area, too, because it fits so naturally with their other offerings. These titans also have the cash to buy the best technology. In May SAP bought Clear Standards, a start-up. Oracle is expected to make a similar acquisition soon. But they face determined rivals. IHS has been quietly buying firms selling environmental software. Some expect great things from C3, a start-up founded by Tom Siebel, who pioneered CRM software.

注（1）：本文选自Economist；

注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象：2004年真题Text 1。（其中个别题目顺序做了部分调整。）

1. How does the author introduce the topic?

A) By posing a contrast.

B) By justifying an assumption.

C) By illustrating an example.

D) By explaining a phenomenon.

2. Why do more and more software firms develop carbon-management software?

A) Because enterprises are increasingly aware of the importance of environmental protection.

B) Because the global environment is deteriorating.

C) Because the government is paying more attention to environmental protection.

D) Because it would generate considerable revenue.

3. Which of the following is NOT an objective in adopting environmental software?

A) To save money from energy consumption.

B) To cater to public demand.

C) To fulfill legal obligations.

D) To follow the government.

4. The word “offerings”（Line 6, Paragraph 6) most probably means______.

A) branch companies

B) products

C) specialized software for environment

D) CRM software

5. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A) The current carbon-management software market is dominated by a few big companies.

B) Companies are now demanding sophisticated software for the tracking of energy consumption and emission.

C) An intense competition in environmental software market is approaching.

D) The software for environmental protection will become as important as that of financial accounting.





篇章剖析


本文介绍了环保软件市场的发展情况。文章第一段以Tesco公司为例，引出使用软件实现减排计划这个主题；第二段介绍了业界环保的总体情况；第三、四两段介绍了相关的背景、现状及将来的发展趋势等；第五、六段具体讲述了各软件公司进军这一市场及各种不同类型公司的竞争优势和策略。





词汇注释


tedious /ˈtiːdɪəs/ adj. 乏味的，单调的

streamline /ˈstriːmlaɪn/ v. 使有效率，使简化

halve /hæv, hɑːv/ v. 将…减半

prompt /prɒmpt/ v. 引起，激起

tally /ˈtæli/ v. 记录；计算

disclose /dɪsˈkləʊz/ v. 揭发，透露，公开

consultancy /kənˈsʌltənsi/ n. 咨询公司

megawatt /ˈmegəwɒt/ n. 百万瓦

surge /sɜːdʒ/ n. 急剧上升，激增

compliance /kəmˈplaɪəns/ n. 遵从

audit /ˈɔːdɪt/ v. 审计，查账

automatically /ˌɔːtəˈmætɪkəli/ adv. 自动地

acquisition /ˌækwɪˈzɪʃən/ n. 收购，购置





难句突破


While governments argue over emissions cuts, many firms have already started cleaning up their act, or at least preparing to do so——prompting more and more software firms to offer tools to help.

主体句式：Many firms have already started cleaning up their act…

结构分析：本句的主句中包含了以or连接的两个并列结构，说明两种不同状态。句首由while引导的状语从句主要是与后面的主句内容形成对比，也就是将政府和企业的行为进行对比。破折号之后的内容起补充说明的作用，也就是说明这些企业的行动对软件开发业产生了何种影响。

句子译文：当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。





题目分析


1. C 细节题。本文第一段主要介绍了Tesco公司力图通过使用软件来实现其减少碳排放量的计划，从第二段来看，文章主要通过这个例子引出话题，因此C是正确选项。

2. A 细节题。文章第二段指出“当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。”也就是说随着企业环保意识的增强，对相关软件的开发也变得越来越重要，所以软件公司纷纷进入这一市场。因此A最符合题意。B、C两项较容易排除。而D选项说“它会带来可观的收益”，看似正确，但文章中并未提到此含义，因此排除。

3. D 细节题。解答本题的主要依据是文章第三段的内容。该段第一句话指出“许多公司跟踪记录能源消耗量已经有一段时间了，为的是节约资金。”因此A正确。第三句话提到公众压力促使更多公司采取行动，因此B也正确；第二句话“还有些公司监控不同气体的排放情况，目的是遵守污染治理规定”，说明企业的做法部分也是为了履行其法律义务，因此C也正确；只有D的表述不正确。业界采取环保措施并不是为了“追随政府”，而且从文章第二段中可以看出，企业在这一方面已经走在了政府的前面。

4. B 语义题。文章最后一段指出“Oracle和SAP这两家已经主导多种商业软件的公司在这个领域也将会是佼佼者”，后面提到因为环保领域的软件与这些公司的offerings最契合，可以推测出这里的offerings指的就是这两家公司的产品，因此B是最佳答案。C和D选项虽然都提到了软件，但都不正确，因为这两家公司主导了商务软件市场，不是环保软件，也不仅仅限于CRM。

5. C 细节题。文章第六段提到，各大公司纷纷进军这一市场，还为此进行各种收购兼并，可见一场激烈的竞争即将展开，因此C正确。文章第五段提到，涉足环保软件的企业众多，却没有提到哪些企业目前占主导地位，因此A不正确。第六段提到，尽管今后的需求估计会越来越复杂，但目前大部分公司的需求都很简单，显然B也不正确。文中并未提到环保软件是否会变得与财务审计同等重要，因此D也不正确。





参考译文


世界最大的连锁超市之一——Tesco公司旗下4300家连锁店的经理的生活前景正在好转。他们使用大型软件公司CA开发的一种程序，一项枯燥的工作就可以变得非常简单：收集每家店的能源消耗数据，不论是用于照明、空调还是制冷。这种高效的数据收集是Tesco公司雄心勃勃的计划中的一部分。计划到2020年，公司现有商店和分销中心的温室气体排放量将减少一半。

Tesco和CA或许是先行者，但他们并不孤单。当各国政府还在争论减排问题时，许多公司已经开始让自己更为环保，或者至少准备这么做，这也促使越来越多的软件公司提供相应的辅助工具。如果乐观主义者的预期正确的话，“碳管理软件”市场有一天会发展到至少可以匹敌重要的商业应用软件的市场。后者中的例子是客户关系管理程序，去年的收益超过90亿美元。

许多公司跟踪记录能源消耗量已经有一段时间了，为的是节约资金。还有些公司监控不同气体的排放情况，目的是遵守污染治理规定。最近，公众压力促使更多公司记录排放量，并且将结果公布在年报中，或者呈交给“碳披露项目”等机构。但大部分公司使用的还是简单工具，如电子制表和数据库。

Verdantix咨询公司的老板戴维·梅特卡夫认为，尽管经济衰退，但上述情况却在改变。他提出，能源成本增加、绿色品牌推广以及新的规章制度，都促使更多的公司记录他们的排放量，而且使用专业软件来完成。 例如，英国的《碳减量承诺》明年就会生效。除其他事项外，《承诺》规定年用电量超过600万千瓦时的公司要测算并报告其能源使用情况。

由于预计需求将猛增，软件制造商纷纷涌入市场，其中大部分提供基于网络的服务。据另一家咨询公司AMR Research近期的一项调查，这类软件供应商不少于157家。一些软件关注统计结果报告，另一些重在遵循相应法规，还有一些致力于优化商业流程。有的软件公司已涉足环保领域多年，例如Enviance 和IHS公司。还出现了一些新的创业公司，如Carbonetworks和Hara。甚至一些大型软件公司也进驻环保软件市场，如CA、IBM、Oracle、SAP和SAS等。

至少在目前，大部分公司的需求都很简单：确保数据收集的规律性和可审计性。但AMR公司的斯蒂芬·斯托克斯预计，几年后这种情况也会改变。届时公司将需要软件具有更多功能：自动收集数据、帮助找到最好的减排方法、管理其他资源如水资源和废弃物。梅特卡夫和斯托克斯先生都预计，Oracle和SAP这两家已经主导多种商业软件的公司在这个领域也将会是佼佼者，因为这与他们的其他软件产品非常契合。这些巨头也有财力购买最好的技术。五月份，SAP收购了一家新成立的公司Clear Standards。预计Oracle公司很快也会进行类似的收购。 但他们也面对着坚定的对手。IHS公司已经在不声不响地收购一些销售环保软件的企业。 一些人期待C3公司会有大动作，这家公司刚成立不久，创始人是客户关系管理软件的先行者汤姆·西贝尔。





第4章 科学研究类



Unit 46


In a Cairo school basement, two dozen women analyze facial expressions on laptops, training the computers to recognize anger, sadness and frustration. At Cambridge University, eerily realistic robotic head named Charles sits in a driving simulator, furrowing its brows, looking interested or confused. And in a handful of American middle school classrooms this fall, computers will monitor students' emotions in an effort to track when they are losing interest and when they are getting excited about lessons. All three are examples of an emerging approach to technology called affective computing, which aims to give computers the ability to read users' emotions, or “affect.”

Yet until recently, our machines could not identify even seemingly simple emotions, like anger or frustration. The GPS device chirps happily even when the driver is ready to hurl it out the window. The online class keeps going even when half the students are lost in confusion. The airport security system can't tell whether someone is behaving as if he were concealing something or is just anxious about flying.

Technology that masters these skills could also help people who struggle to read the emotions of others, like those on the autism spectrum, or provide companionship and encouragement for nursing home residents. Without a grasp of emotions, some researchers argue, computers will never reach their full potential to support people.

“Our digital world is for the most part devoid of rich ways of expressing our emotions,”said Rosalind Picard, director of the affective computing research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. She has been working for more than two decades to translate emotions into 1's and 0's, the language of machines. One early project, with a collaborator, Rana el Kaliouby, was to design glasses for people with Asperger syndrome, a mild variant of autism, that warned them when they were boring someone. People with Asperger's often fixate on particular topics and find it hard to read the social cues, like yawning, fidgeting and looking away, that indicate the listener is bored.

More recently, Dr. Picard and Dr. el Kaliouby have been developing software that maps 24 points on the face to intuit an emotion. In the past, computer algorithms have had trouble distinguishing among genuine smiles, smirks and the gritted teeth that come with frustration, Dr. el Kaliouby said, because they are often fleeting and result in only very small changes to the overall configuration of the face.

注（1）：本文选自The New York Times;

注（2）：本文习题模仿对象：本文习题的第1题模仿2009年真题Text 2 的第1题；第2、4题模仿2010年真题Text 2 的第2、3题；第3、5题模仿2011年真题Text 3第2题、Text 1 的第5题。

1. In paragraph 1, the text shows that______.

A) women analyze facial expressions on computer in a Cairo school basement

B) computers will supervise students' emotions to check their behavior in America

C) a robot siting in a driving simulator looks interested or confused

D) there emerges a new technology called affective computing

2. Which of the following is true?

A) The machines can tell simple personal moods.

B) The GPS doesn't function, so the driver throws it out of the window.

C) The online class continues though 50% students can't follow.

D) The airport security system can identify passengers' personal thoughts.

3. According to the author, one of the distinctive functions of the technology is______.

A) to help people understand others' inner feelings

B) the residents in the nursing home feel encouraged and not isolated

C) computers can't help people without catching the emotions

D) to endow people with rich ways to express their feelings

4. The phrase “Asperger syndrome”（Line 5, Paragraph 4) most probably means______.

A) complicated feelings

B) various emotions

C) a kind of disease

D) symptom

5. From the text we can see that the writer seems______.

A) positive

B) negative

C) uncertain

D) neutral





篇章剖析


本文是一篇科技说明文，介绍了利用计算机读取人类情绪的技术，也就是情感计算技术，其目的是为了赋予计算机读取用户情绪的能力。第一段首先介绍了人们在实验中想利用电脑读取人的情绪进而了解其内心世界，也即是所谓的情感计算技术；第二段点出这一技术之难，到目前为止仍然无法实施；第三、四段说明这一技术用途之广；最后一段讲述了这一技术的最新突破，即开发能判断人的情绪的软件。





词汇注释


eerily /ˈɪərɪli/ adv. 怪诞地，可怕地

furrow /ˈfʌrəʊ/ v. 使起皱纹

chirp /tʃɜːp/ v. 喳喳叫

autism /ˈɔːtɪzəm/ n. 孤僻症，自我中心主义

spectrum /ˈspektrəm/ n. 系列；范围；幅度

devoid /dɪˈvɒɪd/ adj. 缺乏的；全无的

Asperger syndrome 亚斯伯格综合征

fixate /ˈfɪkseɪt/ v. 注视

fidget /ˈfɪdʒɪt/ v. 烦躁，坐立不安

intuit /ɪnˈtjuːɪt/ v. 凭直觉感知

algorithm /ˈælgərɪðəm/ n. 运算法则

smirk /smɜːk/ n. 傻笑，假笑

grit /grɪt/ v. 摩擦作声，研磨

configuration /kənˌfɪɡjəˈreɪʃn/ n. 结构；外形；配置





难句突破


One early project, with a collaborator, Rana el Kaliouby, was to design glasses for people with Asperger syndrome, a mild variant of autism, that warned them when they were boring someone.

主体句式：One early project was to design glasses for people…

结构分析：这个长句看上去结构复杂，其实主句非常短。with a collaborator, Pana el Kaliouby作后置定语修饰project，进一步说明是和谁一起做的研究。a mild variant autism 是Asperger syndrome的同位语，解释说明这种病症。紧接着是一个定语从句，先行词是glasses，用来进一步解释说明这种眼镜的用途。

句子译文：在早期的一项研究中，她与合伙人拉娜·埃尔·卡利欧比共同为亚斯伯格综合征患者设计了一款眼镜，这种综合征是孤独症的一种较轻的症状，戴这种眼镜就可以提醒综合征患者他们何时已经使别人感到厌烦了。





题目分析


1. D 推断题。作者在第一段中以3个例子作为文章的开始，指出“情感计算”这一新科技。A、B、C分别是作者列举的3个实例，用于引出“情感计算”这一科技的出现。

2. C 细节题。原文的对应信息是The online class keeps going even when half the students are lost in confusion. 其他选项的信息内容皆与原文意思不符。

3. B 细节题。原文的对应信息是provide companionship and encouragement for nursing home residents, 意为：给予养老院的人鼓励并陪伴他们，使他们不觉得被孤立。A、C和D选项并不是在说这一科技的显著功能，与题意不符。

4. C 语义题。我们从文中该词组的同位语a mild variant of autism可知这是一种疾病，是自闭症的一种变体。

5. D 情感态度题。本文是一篇科技说明文，旨在陈述科技事实，因此作者持中立态度。





参考译文


在开罗一所学校的地下室里，20多名女性通过笔记本电脑来分析面部表情，训练计算机识别人类的愤怒、悲伤和沮丧。在剑桥大学，有一个怪诞、逼真、名叫查尔斯的机器人坐在驾驶模拟器上，紧锁双眉，看起来时而兴致冲冲，时而疑虑重重。今年秋天，在美国少数几个中学教室里，将会安装一些计算机，以追踪监控学生们的情绪，看他们什么时候对授课内容感兴趣，什么时候不感兴趣。以上三个例子都是一种新兴的科学技术——情感计算技术的例子，其目的是为了赋予计算机读取或者“影响”用户情绪的能力。